Development of the superconducting transition edge sensor for X-ray imaging

Abstract

  Superconducting Transition Edge Sensor (TES) has excellent energy resolution, and they are a powerful tool for X-ray astronomy and synchrotron applications such as X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray synchrotron microscopy. These applications also require large detection area without loss of energy resolution and occasionally also require imaging spectroscopy. To realize the X-ray imaging spectrometer based on the TES with high energy resolution, we are developing two types of the signal read out system for TES array. One is the parallel biasing scheme where we slightly modify the bias point of each pixel and identify the pixel from response function of each pixel. The other is the Frequency Domain Multiplexed (fMUX) readout system. In fMUX readout system, each TES pixel is biased at a unique sinusoidal frequency separating the sensor signals in frequency space, which are then simultaneously read out with a SQUID amplifier. The advantage of our parallel biasing scheme for the pixilated TES, is its compatibility with other multiplexing techniques, therefore, the combination of the parallel biasing scheme and fMUX read out method is promising for a large format TES array for future imaging spectroscopy.